Gurgling Fixtures -- Think It's a Venting Issue -- How to Solve?

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TomAuberg

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Hi everyone, newcomer to the forums here, nice to meet you all.

I bought a new house in August and around mid-fall began to notice some strange indicators of trouble in the plumbing system. Note, we are on a septic system. Below are some of the symptoms I've seen, which I believe are connected somehow.

1) Multiple toilets in the house can "gurgle," almost like there is a suction pulling at the water causing it to go "glub glub glub". This can happen after flushing the toilet or when nearby fixtures are draining. Most problematic is my main floor toilet, which will almost always gurgle when we're doing the dishes in the nearby kitchen sink or when the washer is running in the adjacent laundry room.

2) Similar issues on the upstairs when the shower is running causing the upstairs toilet to gurgle.

3) The downstairs toilet occasionally has some kind of waste material coming back up into it

4) The kitchen sink is leaking from below, and after investigating I found this occurs when too much water goes down the drain (like if you empty a big pot full of water, for example) and then the water spills out over the plastic collar where the PVC pipe connects to the metal pipe that comes from the bottom of the sink (sorry if my terminology is inexact here). My interpretation is that the volume of water is too much to drain, so it pushes back up and then spills out where the two pipes connect (perhaps these are not sealed properly?) but either way also a venting issue causing poor flow, it seems?

Anyhow, it seems clear that all is not right with the system. I spoke to our home inspector who very helpfully dropped by to take a look (free of charge, quite a guy) and advised it is most likely due to the venting.

I tried to troubleshoot this by

1) Climbed the roof, inspected the vent pipe to make sure it was clear of obstruction. I dropped a heavy wrench on a rope about 20 feet down the pipe and all seemed clear.

2) I used an 25 ft auger on the downstairs toilet (which is the biggest problem) to make sure it wasn't clogged. I also augered the sink in that bathroom. Both were all clear with no problems.

Next steps, my home inspector advised that I put some "cheater vents" on the end of the main waste pipes line in the basement (which all the fixtures drain into) so that these have better flow when those fixtures are draining.

However, having researching cheater vents a bit, I can't find any indication of them being used in that way.

I guess I don't just want to put a band-aid on it if there is some larger issue. It bugs me that things aren't venting properly because they were before -- so why not now?

This feels like it could be expensive to troubleshoot so I thought I would arm myself with some knowledge before calling in a professional. Any help, advice, tips, or info would be very much appreciated!

Thanks,

Tom
 

MikePlummer

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if there was no problem with venting before then there shouldn't be all of a sudden...perhaps the gurgling sound is from partial blockage in the line creating backpressure in the pipes... check the baffle in the septic tank...note - the home inspector that told you to put cheater vents on the main waste line is a complete moron
 

TomAuberg

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Hi Mike -- thanks for the quick feedback.

Newbie question, how do I check the baffle in the septic tank exactly? Note our tank is currently under several feet of snow as well :(
 

MikePlummer

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you need to uncover the "lid" on the inlet side of the tank..the baffle will be on the end where the effluent enters the tank...if the tank has not been pumped recently it may be worth having that done and the company that performs that can check the baffle
 

TomAuberg

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Got it, thank you.

Do companies pump septics in winter? I'm in Ontario like you so as you know it's pretty cold at the moment :) Or is it something I'd need to wait out until things thaw a bit more in order for it to be possible to open the lid?

Many thanks!
 

Reach4

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Do companies pump septics in winter? I'm in Ontario like you so as you know it's pretty cold at the moment :) Or is it something I'd need to wait out until things thaw a bit more in order for it to be possible to open the lid?
Thursday and Friday are warmer. I expect they can work in temperatures a little below freezing. Some may want extra pay for "emergency" and some will be eager for work during a slow season.

Do you know right where the cleanout is, or will they have to explore?

Call and ask. I like the smaller owner-operator myself.
 

TomAuberg

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Great advice, I will do that.

Is the cleanout the same thing as the opening of the tank? And is that where the baffle is? I remember during the house inspection we dug out the lid of the tank and looked inside. Or is the cleanout accessible somewhere else?

I do know where the tank lids are (there are two) although I'd have to dig out the snow to get to 'em :)

Thanks for answering these somewhat basic questions as I'm new to all this.
 

WJcandee

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If you know where the tank lids are, you know everything you need to know. That's where the Honeydipper will dip for "honey". Also check and make sure that your municipality doesn't pay for a pump once a year or so; ours does, although it is a rare municipal benefit.

Also, no chemicals whatsoever are recommended in a septic tank. Don't let him sell you a treatment of sulfuric acid (which sometimes opens cesspools,, which this is not), or charge for "agitating" the tank which is unnecessary, or extra bacteria or anything. One poop flushed into the thing will contain enough bacteria to start and feed the digestion process. All you want is for him to pump the tank dry, all the way to tbe bottom, both sides of the baffle (as opposed to just skimming off the scum layer (top layer). You want the scum layer, the middle layer (water) and the bottom layer (sludge) all removed completely, and that's all you want and/or need.
 
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